Gewehr
Encyclopedia
Gewehr is the German
word for a military rifle
. Previous to the 1840s, rifled guns were not widespread, usually muzzle-loading and termed Büchse, as they are still in German hunting
jargon today. Afterwards, Gewehr became the standard term for military-type rifles.
The term "Gewehr" can be encountered in the context of 19th and 20th century military history
for nonspecific rifles from German-speaking countries, e.g. in arms trade, in particular for types produced before German unification in 1871.
Specific types, sorted chronologically from 1841 to 1997 and with designer given, are:
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word for a military rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
. Previous to the 1840s, rifled guns were not widespread, usually muzzle-loading and termed Büchse, as they are still in German hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
jargon today. Afterwards, Gewehr became the standard term for military-type rifles.
The term "Gewehr" can be encountered in the context of 19th and 20th century military history
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
for nonspecific rifles from German-speaking countries, e.g. in arms trade, in particular for types produced before German unification in 1871.
Specific types, sorted chronologically from 1841 to 1997 and with designer given, are:
- Gewehr 41 (Dreyse, 1841)
- Gewehr 71Mauser Model 1871The Mauser Model 1871 adopted as the Gewehr 71 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71 was the first of millions of rifles manufactured to the designs of Paul Mauser and Wilhelm Mauser of the Mauser company.During 1870-71 trials with many different rifles took place, with the "M1869 Bavarian Werder" being the...
(Mauser, 1871) - Gewehr 88 (state committee, 1888)
- Gewehr 98Gewehr 98The Gewehr 98 is a German bolt action Mauser rifle firing the 8x57mm cartridge from a 5 round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. It was hence the main rifle of the German infantry during World War I...
(Mauser, 1898) - Gewehr 41Gewehr 41The Gewehr 41 rifles, commonly known as the G41 or G41, were semi-automatic rifles used by Nazi Germany during World War II-Background:...
(Walther, 1941) - Gewehr 43Gewehr 43The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 is an 8x57mm IS caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
(Walther, 1943) - Sturmgewehr 44Sturmgewehr 44The StG 44 was an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II and was the first of its kind to see major deployment, considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle...
(CITEFA/Schmeisser, 1944) - Gewehr 36Heckler & Koch G36The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
(Heckler & Koch, 1997)